Hunger
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: Created as the Eve to Colonel's Adam, Iris wants to prove to her brother that she can fight and joins the Maverick Hunters without him knowing. Zero sees a potential in Iris and takes to her training personally. Neither of them suspected a growing attraction during training, let alone actually falling in love... [AU-ish][Pre-X4 and Xtreme2][Zero/Iris][lowkey OOC Iris][Complete]
1. Freedom

_Tell me what you need, oh, you look so free.  
The way you use your body, baby, come on and work it for me.  
Don't let it get you down, you're the best thing I've seen.  
We never found the answer but we knew one thing;_

 _We all have a hunger._

. . .

He only gave her one passing look, but he was able to recognize the spark of defiance in her eyes.

Zero wasn't actually planned to overlook the new recruits today, but he had been bored and terrorizing the newbies did wonders for his mood. But then he saw _her_ standing in the line of less enthused Reploids. To say that she looked out of place would have been a mass understatement. The rest of the Reploids were generic models, meant to be shoved down an assembly line and brought out to the masses in droves. But this Reploidic woman was individualized- unique. Her long brown hair reached well further than her back and had been meticulously braided back to prevent stray hairs from going into her face; her eyes were shaded a darker green, and oh how they looked like they wanted to prove someone wrong.

The more he looked at her, the more Zero decided that something was wrong with her… or him. Truly curious, Zero started to make his way up to the observation room for further questions.

"Mister Zero, thank goodness." the tester greeted upon seeing Zero arrive. "Come look over this paperwork for me, would you? It needs to be looked over by a higher ranked Hunter, approved, then sent to the commander for confirmation."

"I'm not here to approve your papers, I had a question." the red Reploid dismissed.

"S-sure. What did you want to know?"  
"There is a Reploidic woman who was in line during the 1:30 PM recruit lineup." Zero idly said, thumbing through the rather impressive stack of recruit forms. "You know, the lineup that's right outside the window there. She's the one with the long brown hair and green eyes."

The tester looked at Zero for a moment (unsure of where he was going with this) and looked out the observation window, almost instantly spotting the Reploid Zero was speaking of.

"What about her?" questioned the tester as he looked back at Zero.

"I want to know her model number." Zero mused as he just now started to go over the paperwork anyway. "Do you have it offhand?"

"4N3 #001B." the tester replied without so much a second glance. That was when Zero looked up and gave the other Reploid a funny look.

"She's part of the Adam and Eve Reploids?" the class S Hunter then questioned. "Why is she here instead of with her twin?"

To this, the tester Reploid just shrugged. "She was part of the first Adam and Eves, she might not need to be within a 100 meter radius of them."

"Is it possible that her twin has been indisposed?"

"Nah, all Adam and Eves go nuts when their twins die- no exception."

Thinking about this, Zero then looked back at the female Reploid, still diligently waiting in line as the instructor filled her and some others in on the training regimen. She looked determined- the same kind you receive when you're trying to prove something (or someone) wrong. It gave Zero an idea.

"I want her separated from the others." Zero then instructed the tester. "Tell her that her training has been relocated to Room 610."

"But sir, training rooms 600 and above are reserved for S Class Hunters."

Zero turned to the tester and gave them a rather blank expression. It was enough to intimate the tester into submission.

"W-what time?" the tester then asked; their fingers nervously starting to hover over the keypad for instruction.

"Tomorrow at 10:00 hours should suffice." the red Reploid then decided, turning his gaze away from the tester and back to the girl.

"Y-yes sir. I'll tell the instructor immediately of Iris's new training arrangements."

"Iris, uh?" Zero then mused. "Hmm… What a cute name."

. . .

At this point, Iris was sure that she was either in a huge amount of trouble, or someone upstairs was taking her seriously. Or maybe there was a pervert involved, in which case she already knew how to escape that situation. Otherwise, she was at a complete loss on who had called her up to the higher levels.

Finding the room hadn't been much of a hassle; even better was that almost no one was up here at the moment. Iris was able to find the room and enter it without so much a question or glance her way. It wasn't a bad training room, all in all, but then again, these _were_ the S Class rooms. This was where all the funding and taxes went, right? She honestly would have been near disappointed if they _hadn't_ looked so pristine and high end.

"4N3 #001B: Iris." a voice from behind her made Iris's spin straighten in attention. "You aren't a mass produced Reploid, that much is obvious. But that brings the question of why you're here to begin with. Unique Reploids like their freedom- whereas MPRs think they have nothing to lose if one of their many faces die in battle… If I cared a bit more, I might find it a bit sad. Wouldn't you?"

Iris remained where she was and did not give the newcomer an answer. From the corner of her eye, she could just barely catch a glimpse of a red armor and long blonde hair. A name almost came to mind- but it was forgotten quickly after.

"At ease Iris." the newcomer then permitted. "I'm going to be looking over your training from now on. But you have to answer some questions first."

Iris let out a small breath of relief, despite not being comforted by the newcomer in the slightest, before turning to look at them. With a mild shock she saw S Class Hunter, Zero, standing there- the look on his face was expressionless and his arms were folded in front of his chest. All too quickly, her mental defenses kicked in again. Anything he had to say wasn't going to be supportive, and she might as well anticipate it now before they even got started.

"Like I said," Zero then started with a roll of his shoulder, "I have just a few questions for you before we start. Nothing hard to answer, I hope."

"Try me." Iris spat. The red Reploid raised an eyebrow at her before moving closer.

"Why were you trying out for field work?" Zero questioned her in a low, emotionless tone. "You weren't built for combat."

"And what makes you think that?!" Iris demanded.

Zero gave a rather slow blink. "It's right there in your model number. You were the Eve extracted from the Adam. You _were not built_ for combat."

This was when Iris started to lose her patience.

"That doesn't mean I'm weak!" she shouted at him. "It doesn't mean that I can't prove to Colonel or _you_ that I'm not some wallflower destined to worry about people on the sidelines!"

"If you're trying to prove how useful you are, there are better ways than enlisting in the army." was her short, simple and irritatingly amused answer. There was a pause before Zero then asked,

"Colonel? Colonel of the Repliforce?"

"Ye-ah." Iris agreed with a tone full of annoyance and sass. "Did you _not_ read the recruitment form? It would have been in Section B: Spouses and Family."

Zero sneered at her for a moment before looking away. He mumbled something under his breath that sounded a whole lot like 'didn't read that far' before returning his attention to her.

"Colonel is not going to be pleased when he learns that his sister has enlisted to be on the offense with the Maverick Hunters." Zero then remarked to her. "By default, you're listed as aid for Repliforce; a strict guideline as part of your nature with Colonel. Transferring papers is going to get messy because of your need to 'prove' yourself to him. Not without Colonel's blessing, at least."

"There are… exceptions, of course." Zero started to muse, now pacing in front of her. "The Repliforce is a sister organization of the Maverick Hunters. Well in check, decent general. An honorable group, if any- I'm quite fond of them."

Iris raised an eyebrow. What did all this have to do with her again? It was only making him look like a douche.

As if answering her silent questioning, Zero stopped pacing and faced her. Iris just now realized how close he had gotten to her. Did he mean to do that?

"You'd have to acquire a Ride Armor if you think you're going to be combatant." he then said to her. "Even then, it still requires some training. Training simple enough that, I'm sure an Eve Reploid could pick up in less time than an Armor Soldier."

Iris flashed Zero an undesirable look- a compromise on whether she should be angry at him for his moment of sexism, or interest at the implication that he could train her to fight.

"I expect you here every morning at this time until I decide otherwise, Iris." Zero finally informed her. "Your first training session begins tomorrow. Don't be late."

"It's a date." she agreed with a firm nod. Zero frowned at her terminology but said nothing.


	2. Training

Iris might have arrived a bit too early for training the next day. There was still a stunning lack of Reploids upstairs at this point of the day; did _anyone_ actually come up here or was Zero so high and mighty that he was the only S Class Hunter in HQ?

"Zero, you can't authorize this!" someone from inside the training room cried, stopping Iris dead in her tracks. "Colonel, no, _Repliforce_ , needs to know that she's here and undergoing offensive attack procedures!"

"X, chill." came the calm, emotionally distant voice of Zero.

"But-!"

"Could you just listen for once? Look, there's something about Iris- I can't explain it yet, but I know it's there. I think she has some fighting capability left over from her extraction from Colonel. It's rare in an Eve Reploid, sure, but not too uncommon. I want to see what her limitations are. I want to push her to her limit. If it all works out, either Colonel will let her take field, or we'll all know for sure if she's no better than a common pencil pusher."

There was a pause after this. It was the small voice of X that said;

"I think you like her."

Something about Zero's immediate laughter made Iris's skin crawl until he suddenly stopped.

"You're… not joking. Are you?" Zero then questioned. There was something in his voice, a small thing that Iris was just barely able to detect, that seemed to have broken through the red Reploid's emotional armor. The extended silence only confirmed how serious X had been.

"X, I..." Zero started but faltered. He eventually started up again with, "We can discuss this later. She's supposed to be here soon."

"Oh… okay." X slowly agreed. "Just… remember what I said? If she gets hurt, and Colonel doesn't know where she is..."

"I get it. Thanks X."

Iris took a step back as X came out of the training room, looking far too perplexed than what should be possible for a Reploid, before puffing up her chest and walking into the room herself. The Reploidic woman didn't have time to realize that X hadn't even noticed her before she saw the Ride Armor Zero had found for her.

"So I take it you like it?" Zero teased, having seen her reaction from next to the Ride Armor.

His only answer was an absent nod as Iris made her way to the Ride Armor for a closer look. The armor was a deep purple with large bat-like wings on the back. The armor was sitting on the ground, waiting to be activated, currently making its overall body just a little taller than Iris. She could have been able to climb in if she wanted to dive right into it, but it never hurt to ask.

"How do I get in?"

"You hop in." Zero answered with a shrug.

Iris turned to Zero and raised an eyebrow. "Literally, or…?"

Zero pursed his lips together and gave a slow nod of acknowledgment. "It's… situational." he admitted. "For now, no; not literally."

"Is there any special way to get in it?" Iris then asked.

"No."

"Then help me in." the female Reploid told him. "We're not going to get anywhere just staring at the thing."

Zero agreed to this with a gruff nod. Getting in the Ride Armor was fairly easy, barring the smallest of boosts from Zero despite not needing it, and Iris carefully situated herself to get comfortable inside. The red Reploid took a step back and attempted to not be amused by her shuffling.

"Once you get comfortable in that rust bucket," Zero eventually spoke up, "There's a red lever off to the side; flip it and the armor will activate. You can't miss it."

"Got it." Iris immediately agreed. After easily finding the lever, Iris switched it on and nearly had to hold on to something as the armor rocked as it attempted to stand up. Once the Ride Armor was on both its feet, Iris was able to regain her balance.

"Are you alright in there?" Zero mused.

"Yeah." Iris agreed. "You could have told me it would do that, though."

"That was a test on your reflexes, obviously." Zero smirked. "Some folks give this weird yelp in surprise when the Ride Armor activates for the first time."

"Lemme guess," Iris interjected, a mischievous smile growing on her lips, "X was one of them."

Her answer was a rather irritated sigh; an agreeing, yet rather annoyed, sigh.

"Operating the Ride Armor is painfully simple after the start up." Zero soon went on, "As clearly marked on the console; you have operations for movement is all four cardinal directions, a basic combat attack, a basic long range attack, and a special attack. In your case, the Ride Armor you have now is equipped with energy replenishing mines- this is your special attack. Your basic long range attack is a simple laser that fires in a single direction, but has high fire power to knock at Mettaur out in one shot. Not kill it -mind you, those bastards are tough- but knock it over for you to squish later. If you just feel like punching shit, the combat attack is the most basic of all of them; let the Ride Armor take care of the strain."

Iris huffed. So far, this was going to be ridiculously easy. So why on _earth_ was Zero acting like she was going to fall apart at any moment? It was annoying, sexist, and getting in the way of this supposed training session. Then something crossed Iris's mind: what if all of this was some ruse for him to flirt with her? If that was the case (and as reputable Zero was and all, it shouldn't have been), Iris was going to maim him without an inch of remorse.

"I'm going to start the main scenario once you're ready." the red Reploid informed her, snapping her out of her train of thought. "It will run through a basic course that will help familiarize you with the Ride Armor, if you progress well enough, you might get to face the 'boss.'"

"Lemme guess, it's going to be you?" Iris snorted. Zero gave his own smirk in return.

"You'll just have to see." he teased before warping to the control booth, allowing the training room to morph into a new environment. Just as Zero said, the program told her how to operate the Ride Armor before setting her through some rather basic scenarios; taking down a small Maverick, then taking down a large quantity of Mavericks, and rescuing a small handful of Reploids from harm.

Iris knew she had done well adapting to the Ride Armor, but had allowed herself to get hit during the Maverick swarm simply because of the quantity. Rescuing the Reploids in danger also proved to be rather cumbersome as she had to think of ways to reach them in the dumbest of places. She knew she missed several of the Reploids, and flinched in considering that their 'survival' was a large chunk of her final score. Eventually, the simulation led her to a hallway that revealed the boss of the course. Iris smirked when she saw Zero there. For a moment, she had forgotten that he was roughly half the height of the Ride Armor. He looked so tiny just standing there with his saber out; it was almost cute.

"You've come this far Iris!" Zero called up to her, preparing for battle. "Don't let me down."

And with a war cry for the ages, Zero came at her with everything he had. Or, it's what he wanted her to think. A simple side step was enough for Iris to avoid his first move. For now, she wanted to get out of his way and study his attack pattern, not that he was making it easy for her- Zero landed three hits before Iris was able to recognize when he would attack. It was at the moment that Zero side kicked off the wall to perform a spinning slash on her that Iris was able to rear up and land her first hit on the red Reploid.

The attack had thrown Zero backwards and allowed the wall he just jumped kicked off of to hit back at him. Genuinely dazed for a moment, Zero looked back at Iris with a rather flabbergasted face.

"You hit me." he remarked, saying it as if he couldn't believe it himself. But then it sparked an interest in him, and a wide smile appeared on Zero's face in return. With an amused shrug he told her, "Well, I guess this means I can't hold back now."

From inside the Ride Armor, Iris gave herself a rather playful smirk. "Bring it Goldilocks!" she even cheered as she made the Ride Armor taunt Zero. As he regained his footing and battle stance, Zero found himself going into a rather hearty chuckle before starting the battle over again.

. . .

Much later, when Zero called a truce to the simulation, the red Reploid was going over the status report. Iris lingered near him but couldn't bring herself to get closer enough to read the report.

"Not bad for a first run." Zero mumbled as he went over the diagnostic. "There are definitely signs of improvement here. Pretty impressive Iris."

The female Reploid looked at her superior nervously, waiting for him to get to the part she wanted to hear. Zero could feel her staring, but ignored her in favor of keeping up the charade. He even let out a rather exhaustive sigh that only made Iris more antsy.

"Iris, I don't know how we're going to tell Colonel," he then mused, "But I think you might have a chance at being combative after all."

"Are you serious?!" she nearly shouted in surprised.

"Take a look." Zero offered, showing her to report now. Iris quickly scanned over the contents and looked for the final score.

"82." she noted when she saw it. "How high's that?"

"B rank." the other Reploid told her, a genuine smile etched on his lips. "The exact rank needed on preliminaries to mark a Reploid viable for combat."

"Are you serious?!" Iris repeated, her jaw dropping in shock. Zero's smile only widened as he looked back at the report.

"Colonel's going to be _pissed_." he mused to himself with a snicker. But as Colonel crossed his mind, Zero's smile quickly disappeared and he looked back at Iris with an unreadable expression.

"You better get back to Repliforce before Colonel wonders were you are." Zero told her rather sternly. "I can give you some more time to get familiar with the Ride Armor before we practice tomorrow, need it be. But for now you need to go home. Rest up- you've deserved it."

"You're not my brother." Iris objected with a flick of her wrist. But she paused for a moment before adding, "Thank you, Zero, for this opportunity. I can't tell if you're actually treating me seriously or if it's all some ploy to get in my pants, but I want to thank you anyway for the experience. Not even Colonel got this far with me, and it's just… _comforting_ that someone may actually be taking me seriously for once."

"Think nothing of it." answered Zero quite sincerely. You're definitely… _different_ , Iris. I like that." Now was when he paused for a moment before adding, "And I don't like you like a… what's the word?"

"Mate?"

"Sure. That's a human thing. I'm not human, nor do I aspire to be one like X does. It's too exhausting, mentally and physically."

"Agreed." Iris nodded. "In any case, see you tomorrow Zero."

"See you." the red Reploid agreed with a stiff nod.


	3. Fucked

_I think you like her._

"God _damn_ it, X." Zero cursed as he sat up in his recharge station.

It has been several months since Zero started training Iris. In that time, she had improved at a steady pace and on her own time. He'd be lying if he didn't say he wasn't impressed. Despite this, X's words still hung around Zero's head like an obnoxious fly. At first, he would have even denied it with all his heart and soul. But now?

Letting out an exhausted groan, Zero got out of the charge station and wandered upstairs to the S Class training rooms. On the way, he passed by some Navigators and lower field agents who spent their time working the dead shift- none of them talked to him, but it could have been that he looked too bitter to even bother. The red Reploid made his way to the training room he and Iris had been using; it was _his_ personal training room, mind you, and as such kept all the detailed records of whatever training transpired there. Zero continued to wander to the control station and settled himself in the ridiculously comfortable chair residing there. After booting up the control station, the red Reploid then started to review the last training sessions on Iris's progress.

In reality, Iris's combative abilities had reached a plateau. You could see the frustration growing in Iris as she kept missing attacks on certain enemies, and eventually lose to them. Zero had attempted a scan at her mind while training went on, finding that her learning processes just stopped at new enemies now. Unless the enemies displayed an attack pattern she had already memorized, Iris could not learn off of them to properly be the victor. He _could_ still send her out on field missions, need it be, but the risk of her not learning off a bigger bad stopped him.

" _I want to see what her limitations are."_ he had told X, and he had found them. _"I want to push her to her limit."_ he insisted to his friend, and he now had all evidence to decide that this was certainly the case. Maybe she wasn't trying hard enough now? No… No that wasn't the case, brain scans affirmed that much. Maybe she didn't care anymore? No, that look of determination in her eyes was as undeniable as the sunrise. Maybe they had gotten too close- Zero was the one that wasn't letting Iris grow to her fullest potential.

 _I think you like her._

"Shut _up_ X." Zero hissed under his breath, despite knowing his friend was sound asleep in his own room. The red Reploid then let out a disgusted growl as he went over the training routines. They involved the Ride Armor Iris was using, and since she was no longer showing improvement with the Ride Armor, perhaps it was time to take it off. Zero bit his lip as he worked through the details. Yes, getting Iris out of the Ride Armor had to work. He wasn't ready to let her finish training yet, she still had work to do.

He still had time to spend with her.

. . .

"Faster." Zero demanded as Iris fumbled her way through the course.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Iris huffed at him as she made a quick dodge under some lasers.

"Not fast enough!" her superior barked back.

Iris attempted to hold back a nasty grumble as she went through the training course. No Ride Armor- only her stripped wit and a good hack-slash to the side. If her memories held up, this was the first time he ever made her do this, and he sure as hell wasn't going easy on her. What happened to making sure she didn't get hurt so Colonel wasn't aware of what they were doing?

"Iris, pay attention!" Zero hollered after a Batton nearly crashed into her. She had seen it coming, she had registered that it was coming for her, but her systems couldn't find a way to get rid of it other than to duck at last minute. It was a stupid move, and at the way Zero was taking this session, it wasn't going to reflect well on her score.

"Enough!" Zero eventually declared, turning off the current simulation and getting down to her level. "It's time for one on one."

"You're joking." Iris questioned with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Never." the other Reploid darkly replied before attacking. With a brief flash of fear in her eyes, Iris dashed out of the way and scrambled to get to some point of safety. Due to the active simulation ending, there was no where for Iris to run without Zero being on her tail.

"Fight me Iris!" Zero demanded, looking more deranged with each second, holding out his Z-saber as if he going to attack a much more powerful foe.

"But without weapons?!" Iris questioned in a fearful defense.

"In the field everything is a weapon."

"But the simulation isn't even running now, I don't have anything to defend myself with! I can't adapt!"

Saying this seemed to make Zero even more furious.

"Yes you can!" he hollered at her before attempting a jump-slash combo. Iris managed to dodge roll out of the way, then quickly maneuvered herself to the other end of the room with several desperate handsprings. This was not the best of ideas as she had backed herself into a corner.

Zero was quick to locate her again and as he came over, Iris just now realized how dangerous Zero could be if pushed enough. He looked so… Maverick, as if the mere behavior was natural to him. That was when her already overworked mind remembered that he was a Maverick -or had been, at least- and the mere idea of Mavericks started with Zero.

For the first time, Iris just now realized how truly fucked she was.

"Zero, I can't do this!"

"Yes! You! _CAN_!" the red Reploid screamed as he aimed right for her core. Iris let out a terrified scream of her own as she just barely dodged the attack; Iris hit the ground hard as Zero stood frozen in his attempted stab as the events that just transpired finally registered to him. Zero's saber clattered to the ground, just moments after he was beside Iris to assess the damage. The female Reploid had curled herself into a ball with her left hand holding the elbow of her right arm.

"Iris, let me see it." Zero instructed, trying to keep his voice still.

Muttering several colorful words at him (mostly consisting of the word 'fuck,' with one very precise 'fuck you'), Iris slowly moved so he could get a better look at the cut. Sucking air through his teeth, Zero found that the abrasion had been deep- if it had gone in any further, it would have broken a vital wire. As the guilt washed over him, Zero carefully slung Iris's good arm around his neck and gently picked her up to carry her to the infirmary.

On the way over, seething through the pain, Iris grumbled at him, "Colonel's gonna… fuck you over."

"I know." Zero agreed with a heavy, regretful sigh. "Oh hell, I _know_."

. . .

After dropping Iris off, and both of them swearing that the accident was surely just an accident, Zero quickly left the infirmary before getting caught by Colonel. It was a pretty smart idea as the two passed each other in the hallway: a shiver went down Zero's spine just in passing Colonel- you knew the Reploid was pissed and no one was going to sate him at this point.

"Where... IS... _IRIS_?!" Colonel demanded almost immediately after entering the infirmary.

The nurse who happened to be attending the manager station shrunk a little in her spot, and let out a soft "This way sir" before leading him to Iris's room. After letting him in, the nurse shut the door behind her to leave the two siblings alone. Colonel didn't waste time going over to Iris and inspected the damage for himself.

"It's not that bad..." Iris mumbled, still in an act of defiance toward her brother.

Colonel flashed his sister an extremely dark look.

"Who did this?" he fiercely questioned.

"No one." Iris insisted. "I fell while holding several stacks of paperwork; that polycarbonate stuff they use now can get pretty sharp in you turn it the wrong way."

"If this happened from paperwork, then our mother was a calculator."

"Colonel, please, it's not that bad. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"You and I both know you are lying Iris. Who are you trying to defend? _Who_?!"

"No one!" Iris shouted at him, finally raising her voice. "And if I really wanted you to know, I would have told you already! It's not important, I'm going to live, so you can just forget about it! What I do with _my_ body has nothing to do with you, _brother_."

Finally, Colonel moved back a little.

"Alright." he eventually agreed. "No one hurt you, I see now. But if that was not the case, I still have one question for you."

"Anything."

"What were you doing at Maverick Hunter HQ?" he asked, simply enough. "You could have just as well been doing paperwork at Repliforce."

Iris flinched. She had to think of something, anything, to keep Colonel from realizing what she had really been doing these past few months. How good at he was two truths and a lie again?

"I've been… seeing someone. Someone who's been helping me become more… independent. And… I guess I like him- he helped bring me here after the accident, after all."

"Who is he?"

Iris hesitated again before finally admitting, "Maverick Hunter Zero."


	4. Sympathy

Meanwhile, while still trying to make sense of why he lashed out at Iris, Zero found his way to the only person he could trust with anything: X. It took the red Reploid awhile, but he finally found his friend in the database room. For what reasons was anyone's guess, but at least they would be alone here.

"Do you have a minute?" Zero spoke up, surprising X a little. The blue Reploid turned around to see Zero and visibly relaxed.

"Sure." his friend agreed. "What's up?"

To this, Zero hesitated. Where would he start? What did he start with? He never really took an appreciation for what was wrong until finally asked what was happening.

"X, I..." he slowly admitted, "I think I screwed up."

X put on a rather kind smile before replying, "Well, at least you're not actually a screw this time. It's much easier for me to work with."

Zero glared at his friend as if X had said something incredibly stupid. In a way, he kinda had.

"Bad joke?" the blue Reploid guessed. He sheepishly looked away before adding, "Sorry… Puns are hard to get right."

"I'm sure." the red Reploid replied without a sense of emotion.

"So, what's up?" X then asked as Zero took a seat next to him.

"It's about Iris." Zero admitted.

Knowing this, X became more serious- only giving a nod to show that he was ready for whatever Zero wanted to talk about. But that was just the thing: Zero didn't know where to start. The red Reploid cast his friend a rather conflicted look, hoping that X could gather enough clues to understand what was going on without Zero telling him. Come on X, just read off of Zero's emotions like you always seem to do so he doesn't have to say them…

"You tried to murder Iris because her combative abilities stagnated?"

Zero flinched, not denying it, but hearing it out loud made it sound just as bad as it truly was.

"You saw Colonel?" Zero then asked as he carefully looked up at X.

"I gave him security clearance." was the blunt answer. It didn't end there because X then said, "I don't know what you did to Iris, but he was less than pleased. Whatever you did to her, he knows, Zero."

"And you don't think I know that?" Zero snapped. He recoiled shortly after, knowing that getting mad at X wasn't going to do much good when his friend was only trying to help. X didn't seem to take it personally- instead tilting his head to the side a little before saying,

"Zero, I don't like it when you're in pieces: emotionally or physically. Why do you do this to yourself?"

"As I have an answer to that..." Zero bitterly snorted.

With a small click of his tongue, X innocently requested, "Tell me what you like about her."

"You're joking." came the flat answer.

X gave his friend a rather childish shake of his head, despite being serious. Zero let out a small groan, but relented regardless.

"She's stubborn." he started, "And determined to see the mission through. She is also extremely resourceful; if she wasn't so insistent to be on the offensive, I'd think she'd do well as a first responder for the medical bay." That was when a smile crept onto Zero's lips. "She worries on the field like you do, X. Not to the same degree -thank god- but she isn't afraid to use diplomacy instead of ripping the wires straight out of some goon's IC chip."

Zero turned to look at X. "I think you two would get along well." he admitted, his faint smile growing a bit wider. X looked back at him and smiled right back. But then Zero noticed something in X's smile that was more than just sympathetic.

"What's that look for?" he questioned, his smile from earlier completely disappearing with paranoia now.

"You love her."

Unlike the last time X accused him of this, Zero's face turned a deep red. "No I don't!" he denied, rather loudly. "That's so stupid X! Why on earth would I love her?!"

The blue bomber gave a small shrug of indifference before saying, "If you didn't love her, then you'd have no problems telling her what you told me."

"X, that's just…!" Zero started to shout before looking at his friend's knowing expression. That was when Zero realized he had fell into a trap, and fuck X for getting him there.

"What is it with you and human emotions?" the red legend grumbled, deterring the subject from him and Iris. "Or even sympathizing with them at all? You'd become an alcoholic just so you can understand what goes on in an addict's head, and for what? It's trivial, and pathetic, and…"

"It helps me relate to them." X admitted, knowingly cutting his friend off. "If humans can see things positively, even when there's no hope, I want to feel it just as well as they can. We're supposed to be protecting them- how can we fight for them when we don't know what _they_ fight for on the daily? It might not be as 'awesome' as taking down another Maverick, but for them it holds the same meaning. It's that same feeling of accomplishment, and knowing some how that this is what the world will remember them for later. It's amazing how many humans see this pressure and succeed in keeping it from blocking their progress. And then you see the ones that can't… and you see what makes them think or behave that way… and it's just so… sad, but still incredibly amazing."

"You're a dreamer." Zero snorted. "And a looney one at that."

X gave a small chuckle in response, but even Zero could tell his heart wasn't completely into it.

"Talk to Iris." X then suggested. "Tell her exactly what you told me- pretend she is me if that helps you any. You might just feel better, and maybe she'll forgive you if she knows how you really feel."

"I'll try." Zero promised as he started to get up. "Thanks X."

"Any time." the blue bomber promised as he watched his friend leave. As X returned to his work, he smiled at the thought of Zero and Iris getting together. As he skim read through an article on Dr Cain's family line, he absently mumbled to himself, "I wonder if I'll ever find anyone like that."

. . .

Iris was exceedingly lucky that her arm still functioned at all. The nurses said, had she not been an Eve Reploid, they would have had to replace the arm entirely for it to function again.

After Colonel's visit, Iris was allowed to leave the medical bay after one last routine check on her arm. Colonel would not let her stay at Maverick Hunters HQ for much longer; in fact, she'd be lucky if she ever left Repliforce again after this mess.

"Iris!" someone shouted from behind her as she walked the halls alone. She carefully turned around to see Zero coming toward her.

"Iris," Zero said again once he was closer to her, "Do you have time to talk alone for a bit?"

"I guess so." she agreed with a small raise of her eyebrow.

"Good." Zero said before taking her by the hand and quickly leading her down the halls. They stopped at an empty meeting room and entered- Zero locked the door behind them and then gave Iris his full attention.

"Iris, I want to apologize."

The female Reploid folded her arms as she looked him up and down. Well, he sure did seem to want to tell her something important. "Go on." she permitted.

"Iris, you're defiant." Zero immediately started. Iris cocked an eyebrow at him, causing the red Reploid to fumble a bit before going on, "You speak your mind no matter who it hurts. You… you trusted me before I went batshit insane on you- but that was only because I didn't want us to stop training. I didn't want… I didn't want you to leave me. I liked your company. X said that I should treat you like I treat him, and I know what he means by that, but I can't do it because I see you differently than I see X. I see you and… and I want to love you, like a human would."

Hearing this, Iris recoiled a little, her arms falling to her side. "But you said that doing anything like a human was useless..."

"I know, and I still stand by it." he replied without any spark of emotion. "But for you? I'd try it, no matter how ridiculous it might look to everyone else. I know you hate me, and we both know that I tried to kill you, but it's because I love you Iris. I loved you so much that I was afraid that you would never be able to defend yourself if something bad had happened. I promise to never treat you like that again, even if you can't forgive me for this whole mess."

Iris looked Zero up and down, almost surprising herself by realizing how genuine he was.

"I… I'll think about it." she finally admitted.

"That's all I can ask for." Zero agreed, giving her a small smile.


	5. Negotiations

Doomed to a life of paperwork and business meetings, Iris didn't know why she expected anything else out of her existence. So there she was, in the background of every meeting Repliforce had that her brother attended, making no sounds and acting more as a pretty corner ornament for everyone to ignore. She was lucky, however, that Colonel never found out the truth about her and Zero. With her no longer sneaking off to leave for Maverick Hunter HQ, Colonel was more than happy to have Iris under his watch again. He was still suspicious of course, but less so when he knew exactly where she was.

Today was another slog of a day that Iris nearly zoned out while Colonel talked with General.

"I heard that we were able to secure the Atlantic coastline?"

"Yes. Our teams are now taking conservation samples for further research. The results of such should be available within the next month."

"Good. The results of the geological sample from Dopple Town have come in- I suggest that you review them at your own disposal. You'll find them to be quite interesting."

"Noted. Thank you for your time Colonel."

"Any time General."

Colonel gave General a nod of good bye before motioning for Iris to follow him. Iris almost didn't notice the cue and quickly snapped back to reality.

"Oh, Colonel," General said just as the duo were about to depart, "I received word that Maverick Hunter Zero would like to have an audience with you."

"Is that so?" Colonel questioned, raising an eyebrow in interest. Even Iris jumped a little at the name. Zero? What could he want with Colonel?

"He even requested that you call him when you are alone." General agreed- he even casting Iris a rather blank stare to assert the notion. "Something about how it was a 'personal' matter that need not be heard by wandering ears."

"Interesting." Colonel mumbled. Iris didn't have to look at him to know what he was thinking about. It was about her: Zero wanted to talk in private about her. But why? It's been weeks- why is he just now reaching out to Colonel to talk about _her_?

"I'll leave you two, then." General then said, kicking both Reploid siblings out of their trains of thoughts. As General left, Colonel and Iris remained behind- thinking and calculating about the same thing.

"Do you know why Zero would ask for my attention?" Colonel asked Iris, turning to face her with an unreadable look.

"No..." Iris replied- the answer sounding more than a question. "I haven't thought about Zero or the Maverick Hunters in weeks."

 _Not since it became apparent that I'll never go out on the field without you breathing down my neck_ , Iris then darkly thought to herself, o _r by having ex-Maverick blondies trying to decapitate me because he doesn't know the definition of love_.

Colonel looked over Iris like a father would look down at a child. After a few moments, he let out a small sigh.

"I'll try to contact Zero later this afternoon." he said to her. "If I meet him, I want you to redirect my calls for the day, alright?"

"Of course, Brother..."

. . .

For what it was worth, Colonel did not like Zero at all. There were the facts, of course, that Zero had once been Maverick and there were the rumors, which seemed to be more vicious than the facts. There was one particular rumor that warned that Zero would never die and every time he did, he became more liable to become the worse Maverick in history. It was actually amazing that the Maverick Hunters decided to keep Zero as a vital part of their team- but then again, so was Vile until he was decommissioned.

Vile was a monster, and it took a monster to cut him down. But it begged the question, when Zero becomes a monster, what monster will it take to cut _him_ down?

Gathering some respect he could have had for the Maverick Hunter, Colonel took a deep breath in before opening the conference room door. Inside the room, despite there being plenty of chairs, Zero stood and admired the paintings that decorated the conference room. Colonel cleared his throat to get the red Reploid's attention, and sure enough Zero turned around to give Colonel a small half smile.

"Colonel." Zero greeted with a nod.

"Zero." Colonel agreed with a nod of his own. "How about you take a seat?"

"I don't plan on being here long." the red Reploid claimed, causing Colonel to raise an eyebrow.

"Then why would you ask for my audience?" he questioned. "If this were a simple 'hello' then you could have just placed a normal call."

To this, Zero's demeanor seemed to change into a more darker tone. "I wanted to talk about Iris." he admitted, his voice not betraying his new attitude. Colonel looked on without so much a blink.

"I'd like to say that I'm surprised." he admitted. "However, I have reasons to believe that you are the one that hurt Iris the other day. Is that right?"

Zero didn't say anything for awhile as he weighed the options of telling Colonel the truth.

"I assume that if I did, you would want to know why?" Zero questioned, not at all letting his guard down. This was a delicate matter, and both of them knew it far too well.

"Of course." Colonel agreed. Understanding this, Zero recoiled a little and once more thought over the idea. It didn't take too long before Zero came to his conclusion.

"I was the one that hurt Iris, yes, but it was not without reason."

"And what reason have you to attack my sister?" Colonel immediately demanded. Zero noted his hostility and accepted it before going on.

"Iris came to the Maverick Hunters because she was restless with her work here at Repliforce. I noticed her spirit to fight and took to her training personally."

Colonel now gave Zero a rather deathly glare. Zero had to take a deep breath in to reconsider what he was trying to say. Negotiating was never his thing -he usually found a way to make X do it for him- but it had to be done for this particular instance with or without X's help.

And Zero had a feeling that he was doing a very bad job at it.

"Colonel, in all respects, Iris has got to be the some insane Reploid I've met that has yet to show signs of going Maverick. But, for what it's worth, she also has the meanest left hook I've ever had the pleasure to experience first hand."

"If you are trying to give a convincing argument Zero, then you'll need to try harder."

Zero let out a sigh. He didn't think he'd have to draw it out this obviously.

"Colonel," the red Reploid then tried again, "I believe Iris is destined for greater things than your invisible secretary. She needs to get out and explore. She needs to get away from you."

Hearing this, and instantly being insulted, Colonel stood straighter and his face became hard.

"Iris will not be combative so long as I live." Colonel informed Zero in a dark voice. Had he not a tough spine of his own, Zero would have cowered in fear right then and there. Jesus, if X was here, this situation would have been dealt with already and everyone would be happy, and smiling, and...

"She doesn't have to be," Zero argued, "If you would listen..."

"I've heard enough Zero."

"But sir-"

"No more of this Maverick Hunter!" the taller Reploid thundered, causing Zero to stagger back a little in surprise. "I made my decision and that is that. Iris is under my guidance, if anything were to happen to her, then there would be no hope for me."

"But what about her?" the red Reploid questioned. "Have you ever considered what _she_ wanted? Colonel, Iris is amazing. So she may not develop enough to be completely efficient out on field, but she could help elsewhere that doesn't involve fighting: emergency response, tactics, even recon!"

"She would never-"

"Have you asked her?" Zero asked, stopping Colonel in his tracks. "Have you ever stopped to consider what she could do instead of what _you_ wanted her to do?"

Colonel growled under his breath as he looked down on Zero. That was when he saw it: Zero had the same range of stubbornness that Iris had- it was in his eyes the same way it would flare in hers. Colonel did not want to lose this debate, and yet, he had a feeling he was going to let himself do just that.

"You sound just like her..." Colonel mumbled as he started to rub the bridge of his nose. Zero waited. What else was he supposed to do? He couldn't tell if this was going to go in his favor or not yet.

"Zero," Colonel finally sighed, "Do you really think Iris could be helpful as a Navigator?"

"Yes sir." the red Reploid replied almost instantly. "She has the mind for it: sharp and quick in devising resolutions to the current problem. The training I gave her could be used to aid others on the field. She could work anywhere she wanted, just not in a combative role."

"I see..." the taller of the two mumbled, casting a side glance as he thought it over. It was some time before he turned his attention back to Zero.

"If you needed Iris for anything, besides field work," Colonel started with a long sigh, "Then I _may_ trust you with her. But be aware Zero, I am highly trained in the latest combat forms."

"As am I Colonel." Zero agreed with a smirk.

"I can't guarantee that you would make it out of the arena alive."

"Neither could I."

Zero looked up at Colonel with a side smirk, while the other looked like he was going to regret the decision in a matter of moments after the two departed. Zero didn't care or take the time to really notice; maybe he _could_ negotiate without X around. Just maybe.

. . .

 **A few weeks later…**

The phenomenon had gained a buzzword in the past few hours: erasure. X refused to look at the case file, while Zero poured his time going over the details. Reploids effected by this Erasure were lifeless- completely nonfunctional like their very soul had been taken from them. There had to be something to explain this- there had to be!

Impatient, Zero went to the research department to ask for some sort of development.

"Were you able to locate the origins of the Erasure incidents?" Zero demanded to the operator the moment he entered the room. The operator jumped a little at his voice, but in realizing that it was just Zero, they relaxed a bit before giving their report.

"Yes sir." they confirmed. "Just a few moment ago, we successfully traced the Erasures to Laguz Island, an islet in the Southern Ocean that is currently housing a Reploid research laboratory."

"Good." Zero snapped. "Give X and I a briefing and we'll go out immediately."

It didn't take long for Zero and X to collect with the mission operators for the briefing. Just as they were ready to go, the lead operator said to them,

"X and Zero, you are able to choose your Navigator for this mission."

"I want Iris." Zero immediately replied. X looked over at his friend curiously. Iris hadn't been mentioned the past few months much. There were some days were she would come to the Maverick Hunters for further Navigator training, but she was still considered a trainee and this mission might be more complicated than it looked.

"But sir, Iris is technically a part of Repliforce." the operator argued, albeit rather gently. "The paper work needed to bring her over, even temporarily, is..."

"Yes, Iris would be excellent for this mission." X agreed, almost a bit too loud, now causing Zero to look at him curiously. "If she were to remain here to look over us, then Colonel would approve her assistance as well. I'm sure of it."

The operator, now conflicted, looked from X to Zero and back again.

"I… I'll see what we can do." they eventually said. "But it may take a bit longer for you two to go out."

"So be it." X agreed. "Thank you for your assistance."

The operator gave a small blush before getting to work. Zero was still looking at X, now with a bit of sentimentalism.

"Thanks X." he said to his friend, quite genuinely. X looked over at him, a bit surprised at the compliment before giving a smile of his own. The two shared a brief moment before Zero added, "Here's hoping Colonel lets her join us."

"What's the worse that could happen?" X asked. "It's not like she'll ever be combative, right?"

Convinced now, Zero made his smile a bit bigger. "You're right." he agreed. "She'd be great for this mission."

. . .

 _And it's Friday night and it's kicking in  
And I can't dress, they're gonna crucify me  
Oh, you and all your vibrant youth  
How could anything bad ever happen to you?_


End file.
